Over the years, Aki Takase und David Murray have amassed respective bodies of soul-stirring compositions, of which several pieces related to the rites of passage of middle age are included on Cherry – Sakura, making this a markedly different conversation than before – and one that is more profound. Cherry – Sakura presents an unsparing conversation about the defining issues of later life by two artists who have seen it all at least once. To use outdated jazz parlance deserving of resuscitation, Takase and Murray are saying something with this album: in a phrase – ripeness is all.
